It’s me, Travis the Warrior, and I wanted you all to know that my brother, Tyler, is Going Over the Edge again this year to support Brain Cancer research. I am very proud of him for his bravery and getting involved to help find a cure for people like me. You can find out more information from his letter below.

Thanks,

Travis the Warrior

Hello Everyone!

Its that time of the year again! Over the Edge for Brain Cancer! Last year, many of you helped me raise a grand total of $2,500, all of which directly supports San Diego based Brain Cancer Research. This year, I have decided to go outside of my comfort zone again and return as an “edger” for the second year! On Saturday, November 5, 2016, I’ll be rappelling down the side of the tallest building on the San Diego waterfront, the Manchester Grand Hyatt.

Over the Edge for Brain Cancer San Diego, hosted by Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure (ABC2) helps to raise vital monies to fund cutting-edge brain cancer research projects, some of which benefitted my brother, Travis, in his fight. Fighting brain cancer is truly a team effort and by joining together in this mission we can help ABC2 to accelerate the development of treatments that will lead to a cure for brain cancer.

This year, nearly 200,000 children and adults in the United States will be diagnosed with a type of brain cancer. This devastating disease will send a shock wave through the families of those affected and threaten their lives with overwhelming complications. Those directly and indirectly impacted by brain cancer are depending on us and our efforts to help bring hope to their struggle.

Your tax-deductible gift to ABC2, no matter what size, will provide vital funding to researchers who are working to put an end to this devastating disease. Together we can turn this debilitating, and often life threatening, disease into one that can be easily managed and even cured.

“Pedal the Cause has the mission of providing funding for cancer research at UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center, Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, and Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego through their annual cycling fundraiser in hopes that the collaborative research funded by this event will ultimately lead to a cure for cancer…100% of all net proceeds STAY in San Diego and goes directly to cancer research.”

PEDAL The Cause San Diego teamed up with the San Diego Padres, Fox Sports San Diego and the Mighty 1090 radio station to host a PEDAL at the Park Radio-Telethon on Saturday, 9/12/2015, benefiting local cancer fighting organizations and research. The event started in the afternoon with the Radio-Telethon where many guests, including Travis and Tony, were interviewed by Jesse Agler (Padres Social Hour), Mike Pomeranz (Fox Sports SD), Scott Kaplan (Mighty 1090 radio) and Billy Ray Smith (retired SD Charger). Then they had an hour long PEDAL class down on the baseball field with 1000 stationary bikes arranged around the infield facing a stage with celebrity instructor, Brandon Mills. The event concluded with a post-PEDAL party with a DJ and the Padres game up in San Francisco was broadcast on the SONY jumbo TV in the stadium. What an amazing event that raised close to $80,000 and thanks to everyone at PEDAL, the Padres, Fox Sports SD, the Mighty 1090 and all the countless volunteers who worked so hard to make it happen!!!

The Main event gets started on Friday 9/18 with a Kickoff Party down at Petco Park. On Saturday, the 2-Day, 150 Mile ride begins at UCSD and riders will spend the night in Temecula before riding the 75 miles back to UCSD on Sunday. Also on Sunday, there will be 50, 25 and 10 Mile rides along with a super hero kiddie ride. All of this in support of the fight against Cancer. Go Riders and Go Team Travis & the Warriors!

THANK YOU for everything that Pedal the Cause is doing to help find a cure for Cancer! As a direct beneficiary of the world class medical care and research we have in San Diego, we know firsthand that lives are truly being saved. We couldn’t feel more honored to be one of the “Ride for a Child” program participants through Rady Children’s Hospital and selected by the team: Travis & the Warriors!

In case you haven’t heard over the last couple weeks, Travis’ latest MRI results came back CLEAR! They are clear in terms of our favorite phrase “No Sign of Disease” (aka No Sign of Cancer) and they are also clear regarding his Compression Fracture in his T9 Vertebrae. YEAH!!!

It has been almost a year since they detected his compression fracture in his spine last September and we received the dreaded “No Running or Jumping” order from the doctors. As it turns out, that is like torture for a kid to see all his friends running, jumping and playing all the time and knowing he can’t participate. But Travis, like the true Warrior he is, powered through and made the best of things by as he says “running in my mind” while he was race walking and even cheating a little here and there. Yes, Mom and Dad have eyes in the back of their head and ears listening to EVERYTHING! Along with the all clear order came another year of Fosomax which is a bone strengthener for osteoporosis or brittle bones. In the grand scheme of things, what’s the big deal with continuing the pill as long as you can run and jump, right?

So, leaving the doctor’s office that day, the first thing Travis did was RUN down the hallway. Then he proceeded to RUN across the parking lot to the car. When he got home, he went for a RUN around the block. Then he went out to the soccer field to RUN around and even RUN some laps. It was like he had been set free! The doctors still want to hold off from doing any contact sports until his bones are strengthened more so we will deal with that. Overall, things are good and Travis is a Warrior!

Wow! It is hard to believe that we have gone so long without posting any updates. Life has been going along as normal as can be, which is a really good thing. But, ever so often there is something extraordinary that happens so we want to pass that along.

On Thursday, a group of kids from Rady Children’s Hospital were invited to participate in the Dolphin Interaction Program at SeaWorld. The program was established about 7 years ago by one of the dolphin trainers, Joy Soto, who is a cancer survivor herself. Travis was one of the lucky few invited to participate and he had an absolute blast. Here are a few links to some of the news coverage of the event. Travis and Lynne were interviewed by our local ABC 10 News:

On Tuesday, the bus picked us up at 11:00 am and we were on our way to the FC Barcelona training facility, Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper, which is also where La Masia (FC Barcelona Youth Academy) is located. We all went into the reception area and the kids had a chance to sign a poster of an atlas with FC Barcelona Shields on all the places that the kids came from around the world. Travis signed “Dear Messi, Thank you for taking the time to be with us. Travis Selinka – Carlsbad, CA – Travis the Warrior.” The kids were then called to go out to the training field and when they entered they started a little soccer game before Messi arrived. What else would you expect from a bunch of soccer fans?

When Messi entered the gate, all the kids cheered for him and chanted “Messi Messi Messi.” At that point, Travis said: “I was amazed that my wish was actually coming true and I was meeting the world’s greatest soccer player.” The kids gathered together for a group photo with Messi and presented him with some gifts. Travis presented a gift of Travis the Warrior t-shirts and a wrist band for Messi and his son. Messi asked to watch the kids play soccer so they started playing their game again. Messi wanted to join in but he was recovering from an injury that occurred during El Classico against Real Madrid the previous weekend.

After the mini game, the kids gathered together around Messi and were able to ask him questions. Travis’ question was, “Was it hard when you had to have growth hormone shots when you were little?” Messi replied in Spanish which was translated to “I always looked forward to playing my next game and that’s what got me through. I didn’t let that get to me.” Another kid asked him, who his favorite player was growing up and he replied: “There are so many good players it’s hard to pick one. If I had to pick one, it would be Maradona”. Another question was what was his hardest match and Messi replied: “Every match is my hardest match.” It was great that Messi just interacted with the kids so freely. After the question and answer session, Messi posed for one more group shot before he handed out FC Barcelona swag bags and the kids loved them.

It seemed like the time went by so fast but it was time for Messi to leave to go train for their next match against Celta de Vigo on Saturday. Travis commented that “Messi was very relaxed, friendly, and outgoing. This is a dream come true and a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

Click here to see Lionel Messi’s comment on his official Facebook page (on 29 October) after the event which read: “Really happy that I had the chance to meet these 30 amazing young people. They are truly an example of determination and are an inspiration to all. I am truly grateful that they had the opportunity to come to Barcelona, as I had the opportunity to learn so much from them. Many thanks to the FC Barcelona Foundation and the Leo Messi Foundation for making this possible. “ – LIO

We want to thank everyone for supporting Coach Jonno’s 50k Run for Make-A-Wish in honor of Travis the Warrior! It is because of generous donations in support of fundraising efforts by people like Coach Jonno that make the special Wishes of the kids like Travis come true. THANKS!